Jurgen Klopp has revealed Daniel Sturridge won’t feature against Rubin Kazan on Thursday night after the manager delivered a Liverpool injury update ahead of the Europa League clash.

The England striker missed Klopp’s first game in charge of the Reds after the 26-year-old striker injured his knee following a collision with Jordon Ibe in training at Melwood last week.

Sturridge missed most of the 2014/15 season through injury, and Klopp confirmed that the Liverpool forward wouldn’t be risked against their Russian opponents in the manager’s first game at Anfield.

“Sturridge is getting better and better, the target for him is Sunday,” Klopp told his pre-match media conference on Wednesday afternoon.

However, Klopp did deliver some good news for Liverpool supporters after he added that Christian Benteke, Roberto Firmino and Dejan Lovren are back in first-team training.

Liverpool v Rubin Kazan: Match facts

• The clubs are meeting for the first time in UEFA competition.

• Both clubs have changed coaches since the group stage draw.

• Liverpool manager since 2012, Brendan Rodgers was sacked on 4 October after an uninspiring run of results.

• Rodgers’ replacement is former Borussia Dortmund coach Klopp. The 48-year-old enjoyed an immensely successful spell in charge at the Westfalenstadion, winning the Bundesliga in 2010/11, completing the double the following season and narrowly missing out against Bayern München in the 2013 Champions League Final.

• Valeri Chaly is in temporary charge at Rubin, following Rinat Bilyaletdinov’s dismissal in September. A lower-league player in the Soviet Union, he was later a beach soccer and futsal trainer. Once coach of Moldova’s FC Iskra-Stal, he joined Rubin after a short spell with FC Chayka Sevastopol’s reserves.